Some city councilors want to dip into streetscapes fund to repair roads, sidewalks

Thursday

May 18, 2017 at 8:00 AM

Jo C. Goode Herald News Staff Reporter @jgoodeHN

FALL RIVER — The abysmal conditions of roads and sidewalks around the city have prompted some councilors to eye a portion of the nearly $10 million in bond money slated for Mayor Jasiel Correia II’s streetscape initiative to step up repair efforts.

Pending is a resolution to turn into an order that would allocate a portion of the bond money for other street and sidewalk projects and stall any of the seven planned streetscape projects planned to begin construction this summer. According language in the order, the streetscape projects would not proceed “until our streets and sidewalks are in much better condition.”

The original resolution was sponsored by Council President Shawn Cadime and Councilor Pam Laliberte-Lebeau.

During Tuesday’s City Council meeting, the matter was approved to change to an order. However when Councilor Richard Cabeceiras offered a motion to place an $8 million funding amount from the overall $10 million package it was stalled until the next meeting when Councilor Joseph Camara objected.

Correia did not respond for a request for comment through his Special Assistant Faust Fiore. The mayor did appear in Council Chambers while the issue was being discussed, but Joseph Camara’s motion to waive the rules and allow the administration to answer questions was voted down.

City Councilor Cliff Ponte referenced a 24-page pavement management plan that identifies city streets, roads and sidewalks in need of repair and listed a number of areas in the city he found “absolutely ridiculous,” including the parking lot of Maplewood Park, conditions on Stafford Road to Brayton Avenue. He held up a photo of a large pot hole in front of the Letourneau Elementary School.

“This is a safety hazard,” Ponte said. “ ... I think our emphasis really needs to be on what is directly before us.”

Ponte said later that while he was one of the councilors who voted to approve Correia’s streetscape initiative, the council was told that work would begin in early spring, which hasn’t yet happened and the administration is only in the public input stage.

“Also, the conditions of the other city streets are in far worse condition now than before,” Ponte said.

The administration also assured the council that with the privatization of sanitation, it would free up manpower in the Department of Community Maintenance and a concentration on staffing to repair city infrastructure, Ponte said.

In the meeting, City Councilor Stephen Camara protested the turn of events with the council regarding the streetscape projects and had “a real issue with us changing our minds.”

He said the council was not taking into account the Chapter 90 money, which the city will receive another appropriation from the state in July and the proposed appropriation from the upcoming Community Development Block Grant funding. The Community Development Agency has proposed $250,000 for street and sidewalk repairs in its 2017-2018 CDBG application and that streetscapes are a major starting point to improve the city.

“It’s the foundation for moving forward,” Long said.

The city has about $700,000 left over from this year’s $1.9 million in state road repair funding, and according to city Engineer JR Frey, the administration is waiting to get the official amount of Chapter 90 money for the upcoming fiscal year. Frey said they are anticipating a similar award amount as last year.

Four of the seven streetscape projects are being presented to the public for input that include Columbia Square, located at South Main and Columbia streets; Bank and Purchase streets and East Main Street.

The costliest of the projects are located on Purchase and Bank street at a cost of $2.2 million that will be constructed together and, in addition, new sewer lines will be installed.

Correia lives in a rental unit on Bank Street where the streetscape project is planned.

City Councilor Steven Camara also owns property in the area of the project. As in the past on any City Council action regarding streetscapes, Camara recused himself from the votes.